


You Know What Happens to Gifted Kids When They Grow Up, RIght?

by Willowlark



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, College, F/M, Fire Emblem: Three Houses Golden Deer Route, Flirting, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Memes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-03
Updated: 2020-08-10
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:08:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25683292
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Willowlark/pseuds/Willowlark
Summary: College AU: Claude interrupts Lysithea studying, they get to talking about things unrelated to the course work. Various non connected shorts of their interactions with each other, their dorm mates, and the rest of the people at Garreg Mach University
Comments: 3
Kudos: 10





	1. Chapter 1

Lysithea feels the soft weight of a hand on the top of her head. She, understandably, snarls immediately into her notebook.

"Claude, stop that!" she barks, batting his hand anyway with her own. Said classmate hops out of range, a mischievous smirk stretched across his face. Lysithea turns in her chair and smack her rascal of a rival upside the head, but he motions, smirk still in place, with a single finger in front of his lips. She... just shouted in the school library didn't she. She turns around, cheeks heating up, to spot the librarian standing and glaring at her from behind his counter. Lysithea mouths a quick apology and nearly dives into her chair again, hiding behind the study walls of the cubby. 

"You shouldn't yell in the library, you know," Claude whispers to her as he sits beside her. He lifts the divider between their two desks, making it a two desk spread. Lysithea's hair whips around her as she trains her glare on him.

"It's your," she starts, but catching that her volume is still too high for a school library she continues in a proper whisper, "It's your fault, why do you insist on doing that?!" 

"Mostly because you react like this. You secretly like a head pat now and again, don't you?" He replies, all smiles. She can see through him. The conniving bastard. He always smiles when he has cards he hasn't played, that's how he operates. Always playing the light-hearted fool, even when she knows it's a front. 

"You're a strange kind of sadist, aren't you?" she mutters. He chuckles lightly. 

"Embarrassing you is quite fun, I have to be honest."

"That'd be a first." He laughs again.

"What are you working on?" he asks as he lifts his backpack on to his lap. She doesn't reply so he sing-whispers, "Come on Lyssi... You know we always finish quick when we work together..." And as much as she hates to admit it, he's right. She has better things to be doing right now anyway. 

She gives up, sighing. "The War of 1185." 

"Ah yes. The Unification of Fodlan. I'll do the packet backwards, we compare notes when we're done?" She grumbles out a vague affirmation. "Most errors buys dinner at the Canteen," he adds and Lysithea perks up.

"You're on."

\---

Lysithea beams, ever so humbly of course. It took a tiebreaker of the Calculus homework, but Claude stumbled on a derivative in the second to last problem. She and Claude now stand waiting for their food to be up in the din of the evening rush at the Derdriu University Canteen. It's loud from the dozens of like-minded students looking to catch a late night meal and between that and the overpowering smell of fry oil and burgers grilling it's a bit much to take in. Lysithea would normally wait on the other side of the Canteen, only going up for her food when her number showed up on the screen but if she did that, Claude wouldn't be able to see the shit-eating grin across her face, now would he? He's not fazed by it though, to her disappointment. He almost seems amused by her smile. 

Claude leans against the wall next to her, the two of them tucked into a little corner so that anyone rushing up to pick up their order would bump into him rather than her. (Which she wouldn't admit she's greatful for but she is; at her height, it's pretty common for jock types to bump into her without realizing it.) It's loud enough that talking is frustrating and neither of them seem motivated to try. Claude continues looking at her in that oddly happy way and she continues to express the thought 'I'm smarter than you and I proved it' with only her smile. 

Their number is called (it's on the same ticket since Claude paid) and Claude fetches it. Lysithea leads the way to a circular booth around a corner, empty and spacious. The corner breaks the sound as well as Lysithea welcomes the sound of her own thoughts returning. She slides into the booth, going all the way to the center of the circle.

"To the victor go the spoils," Claude says with a mock bow, placing the tray on the table. Lysithea crosses her arms and puts one leg over the other. She'd try and look down at him but even with the platform the booth is on she's still not taller than him. "Will this do, Princess?" Claude continues as if he were truly some kind of butler. Lysithea's cheeks feel warm again, his time with the improv troupe has really paid off. Without seeing his face she can't actually tell if he's teasing her, and the way he said Princess was so authentic she might believe she is a princess. 

"Or half of them, anyway". He looks up and winks at her, the same way he does in class when he gets an answer right she didn't raise her hand for. So much for feeling superior. He slides on her right, placing his bag on the seat across from him. 

"You're no fun," she says, unfolding her arms and legs as she reaches for her food. "Even when I win, you take it so damn well."

He quirks an eyebrow at that, amused as he eats a fry that was loose on the tray. "Are you sure you just don't take losses poorly?"

Her right hand slaps the cushion between them and she leans right into his face to say "I do not!" indignantly. He motions with a finger at her current posture and she flushes. "Okay, maybe." He laughs.

"Well, you know what they say about gifted kids when they grow up."

"What do they say?" She asks, brushing hair behind her ear. 

"That they get a crippling fear of not living up to their potential and a constant need for validation before they burn out," he says and punctuates it with a sip of his coke. 

Lysithea attempts to glare literal daggers at him. "...What does that have to with losing?"

"... Damn," Claude says, frowning. "I forgot the meme." He reaches into his pocket and starts scrolling through his phone. 

Lysithea can't believe it. "...This is what frustrates you. Forgetting a meme?" 

"I mean yeah I should remember this, it applies to both of us... Hold on I'll find it." He says more to his phone than her.

Lysithea shrugs and dips fries in her milkshake. "I'll let it slide you called yourself a gifted kid too since you were complimenting me at the time."

"Got it!" he says a few moments later. He looks at her, absolutely beaming and Lysithea's heart skips a beat. His real smiles are a rare sight. "It was gifted kids grow up thinking they're better than everyone else!"

Lysithea smacks him upside the head. "That's an insult!"

"I mean, yeah, but it's not wrong right?" Lysithea tries to give him the most judgemental look she can. It doesn't phase him. "Psychologically, you know?" 

Lysithea turns back to her fries, letting her mind mull. "Okay, I see what you mean." She relents. "You grow up at the top of the class..." 

"Or just generally ahead of the game," Claude fills in as Lysithea pops a shake laden fry into her mouth. 

"And you start to think that's normal. When you get to the real world," 

"Or even college, you're on an even playing field and suddenly,"

"You're not the gifted kid anymore, just ordinary." Lysithea finishes. "I see your point. Why is this what we're talking about?" Claude shrugs, having just bitten into his burger. She doesn't press him for a response but keeps looking at him.

"No one else I could talk about this with, really." 

"Why not?" Lysithea asks, the images of the rest of their dormmates flitting through her head, all eight of the residents of their wing were rather tight-knit.

"Think about it like this. If I told Lorenz he thinks he's better than everyone else, do you really believe he would think on it hard enough to realize it's somewhat true?"

Lysithea shifts her head lightly, her lips forming a smile. "No, I'm pretty sure he would challenge you to an old fashion duel over the accusation."

"Something like that." Claude smiles as well, mirth behind his eyes. "Don't get me wrong, I love everyone in the dorm, but none of them have the same..." He sets his elbows on the table, resting his chin on his hands as he thinks. "The same ability to look at things logically that you and I have." Something bubbles in Lysithea, a warm feeling. "Not to mention we're as former gifted child as you get."

"I don't see you at University after skipping two grades." She replies wryly. She tilts her head, teasingly, and looks right into his eyes. He smiles, and she's finding that's as good to her as her dream of seeing him flustered. 

"No, but I did finish primary education early." He replies. She can see the spark in his eyes as his past comes up. No matter what angle she'd tried before now, he wouldn't give up any details on his life before Dediru. It was common knowledge that he didn't grow up in the city but anything beyond that was a mystery, one he apparently loved to keep. Now would be her chance to press that lead, and he knows he gave her the chance to but... 

"I'll take your word for it." She says instead. "You aren't quite the same as me right?" He blinks, though the mask he wears in public doesn't slip off his face. She suppresses the elation she feels at surprising him because she's afraid if she distracts him he might not answer the question. She finds... she really wants to know.

He looks away from her, towards the wall beyond their booth. "Right. You're a magic prodigy and incredibly intelligent, study and course work made you a gifted kid. I'm intelligent as well," he winks at her, but ends up looking away again before he continues. "but I didn't study my way to the top. I schemed, learned to read people and rooms... Came to understand other people and the right things to say and do to get my way."

"You make it sound so underhanded. I've seen you use your talents for other people, but never for yourself." 

He pauses slightly, a little hitch as he replies "Well, I try my best." When he looks back to her, his smile is genuine again and she's positive something about what she just said resonated in that brain of his. Before that thought gets any farther he lifts his hand to her head, lightly ruffling her hair. "Thanks Lyssi."

"Stop that alreadyy!" she replies on autopilot, batting at his hand. She'd never admit it... But she did like that. Just a little bit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why is this a college AU? Large shrugs. This was totally impromptu on seeing a tweet of Lysithea fanart; Only think I went into this knowing was Claude interrupts Lysithea studying. Their natural chemistry lead to a discussion about being gifted kids and the story wrote itself. I still love them so much T^T


	2. Chapter 2

"Lorenz, let someone else light the thing if you keep burning yourself on the match." Hilda grins devilishly. "We won't judge you for never having used matches before, Mr. Noble," she giggles and it evokes giggle from the collected students. The power was out, they were in the middle of a freak summer storm and a rockslide took out Garreg Mach University's power lines. Most of the members of the Golden Deer, Black Eagle, and Blue Lion's dorms had piled into the Deer's common area to suffer the warm evening together. Pajamas were commented on (or judged, depending on the observer) and candles were dug out from various contraband drawers in rooms, which Lorenz and Ferdinand were attempting to light. Keyword attempt, Claude notes to no one in particular. Seems like Leonie and Dorothea are taking over for the two, so the building probably won't go up in flames tonight.

Claude enjoys the bustle of the room. Despite the three dorms being separate buildings, the residents of each of the 'traditional' dorms got along well. Edelgard and Claude frequently joke about how they'd probably be at war with each other in 1185 right now, Dimitri occasionally joining in. Poor guy is too straight-laced to keep up with Edelgard's wit and his cunning though. Edelgard is stoking the fireplace, and Dimitri is moving couches from anywhere he can to fit the whole gang comfortably. It brings a warm feeling to Claude's chest to see the unity in the dorm, and not for the first time he blesses that Professor Byleth, who manages the three dorms, saw fit to appoint him to Resident Assistant.

Claude scans the group, looking for any stragglers. Mercedes had promised ghost stories and Leonie said she could make smores over the fireplace, so between the two of them there was something for everyone in this little pow-wow. Felix showed up entirely because of Annette (hopefully tonight Felix makes a move, Claude bet Hilda 50 bucks he'd do it before Annette even notices Felix is sweet on her), Bernadetta is still in her room to no one's surprise, but the rest of the group were...

Claude looks over the heads in the room again from his position at the entranceway. He doesn't spot a certain white-haired head and frowns. Lysithea's not here. He shrugs, figuring the scholar lost track of time in whatever magical theory tome she was pouring over. Claude knows Hilda all but threatened the Deer into joining in the festivities earlier (mostly for Marianne's benefit, she's here despite her depression and being carefully smothered with love by half a dozen people, Hilda's done a great job making sure Marianne has a family here.)

Claude makes his way for the girl's wing staircase, hoping up with his hands in his pockets. The small window on the landing buckles as he passes it, the storm somehow getting stronger. Someone (Leonie, he's sure) sealed the window earlier though, and it stays closed. Claude heads halfway down the hall to where he knows Lysithea's room is, looking for the nondescript whiteboard on the front. He knocks on the door twice.

The door creaks open slowly from the force of his knock. That's odd, it must not have been closed. It's pitch black inside and Claude hears shuffling from inside.

"...Lyssi? You okay in there?" He calls hesitantly. He reaches for his phone, lighting up the flashlight feature. He slowly shifts the light into the room, as to not blind Lysithea, if she is indeed inside. 

He spots her at the foot of her bed, absolutely cocooned in her quilt. It looks like she rolled off the bed and got stuck, honestly. What worries him is her eyes being clenched shut and how she's shivering. He moves up to her, kneeling down in front of her. 

"Hey, Lyssi, what's wrong? You sick?" 

"N-no Claude I'm fine!" she barks, loud enough Claude leans back a bit. 

"You don't... look fine."

"Well I am, so if you could buzz of-" A crash of thunder booms outside and Lysithea attempted to burrow deeper into the blankets with an actual squeak. Oh.

"You're afraid of storms?" Claude asks. He tries to keep the ever-present amused tone from his voice but it doesn't seem to be enough. Lysithea's eyes water slightly.

"Yes funny haha get your chuckles in Claude, I don't like thunder, ghost stories, or the dark, I'm such a little kid!" Lysithea spits at him. The snarl on her face evokes an awkward wince from the RA. He places his phone face down the floor and spins, sitting next to Lysithea.

"Sorry, I do tease you a lot about the ghost thing, don't I?" 

Lysithea looks over at him, confused for a moment before burying her face in the cotton quilt. "Yeah, though maybe I was quick to assume you were doing that now." Claude lightly elbows the wad of cotton he calls his dorm mate.

"I could if you want me to?" he quirks an eyebrow. Lysithea's exasperated look is all the response he needs. "Gotcha." 

Another thunderclap comes from outside and Lysithea curls around herself again. Claude puts an arm over her shoulder. As soon as he does Lysithea shifts completely towards him, collapsing into the crook of his arm. Claude decides quickly that commenting on this moment of vulnerability from the younger girl will end up with him on fire or worse, instead keeping a light hold on her shoulders.

They sit like that for a bit, the only light coming from Claude's phone and the lightning flashes that are bright enough to be seen through the curtains. Presuming with Lysithea never goes well for him (one of the things he likes about the Ordelian) but her shivering has stopped somewhat. 

"I hated the dark too, when I was younger. You wanna know how I got over it?" Claude asks, looking up at where the flashlight's beam hits the ceiling. Lysithea looks up from his shoulder but doesn't say anything. Claude grabs the phone with his free hand, placing it in his lap, still pointed at the wall. 

"My Mother found me one night looking a lot like you. She sat me down kinda like this and told me that I should harness the dark for something amusing, and it won't be as terrifying. Then..." Claude moves a hand over the flashlight, making a shape with his hand. The shadow on the ceiling looks like the head of a dog. 

"She showed me shadow puppets." He says softly. He moves his fingers lightly, making the dog open it's mouth, just like how his mother did back then. He looks down at Lysithea, taking in her amused if skeptical expression. He grins. 

"Rut roh Ryesithea! Rhere's a ronster in ra ratarombs!" Claude's butchery of the Scooby Do accent is worth it, Lysithea cackles at him. 

"You're too good at that!" Lysithea says through laughter. Another thunderclap booms and it's a few moments before Lysithea even realizes. She looks to the window slowly, then back at Claude with a rather awed expression. Claude winks without thinking, wondering why he's so glad to have helped. She flushes slightly and smiles, warming his own face.

"Your Mother is incredible," Lysithea says, shifting the blanket off her shoulders. She's got on an oversized baseball tee with black sleeves.

"She is for sure, but the impression was all me."

Lysithea cocks her head to the side, her bangs shifting across her forehead."That does seem like you, yes. It's a shame, I could never watch the show as a girl. Scooby Do, I mean." Claude waits for her to continue and she does as she stares at his shadow puppet dog on the ceiling. "Thunder and the dark are something of course, but the ghosts and monsters of the show? I'd cry whenever the show came on, so I eventually gave up. I didn't want to be laughed at my friends for being," she makes air quotes. "Such a baby."

"Childhood, wouldn't be the same without the bullies would it?" Claude laughs. 

"Not at all, I wouldn't be one of those gifted kids you made fun of the other day without all the trauma." Now it's Lysithea nudging him in the side.

"We should head downstairs. It's been enough time Hilda might notice we're missing and she will absolutely bully me over our 'secret hook up' if she does." Lysithea says, standing and stretching out. Claude tries not to think about how quickly his eyes darted to confirm she had pants on with her oversized shirt (she did, though they disappear when she puts her arms down) and to her thigh high socks. He's doesn't notice her glancing at his gaze as she stretches, an amused smile fleeting across her lips. 

Claude quickly regains his composure however, hopping to his feet as well. "Yeah, and you wouldn't want to miss any of Mercedes's special ghost stories, now would you?" Lysithea literally freezes in place and Claude smirks. 

"Well, I, uh, actually-" Claude grabs Lysithea's hand and pulls her towards the door. "Come on, if Mercie manages to summon any ghosts you can nuke them into high orbit with that Luna spell you showed me."

"That's not the pointttt" Lysithea whines, but she lets herself get pulled along. The two make it down just in time for Mercedes's story to begin, but not quick enough that Hilda doesn't take note of them together. Claude files that problem away from tomorrow and sits close to Lysithea as Mercedes begins the story. 

It's not till the first twist that he realizes he never let go of Lysithea's hand when they sat down together. Despite the death grip she's performing on it now, he doesn't let go till the stories are over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My power went out like, super randomly this afternoon! After being miserably hot for a couple of hours I gave up and went to crash with family, and I figured I'd put my frustration into Claude Lysithea fluff. I can't stop, it's so easy. Basically writes itself lmao
> 
> This wasn't supposed to be multi-chapter but I'm not going to make a big series like the Golden Deer fics. Expect unconnected shorts of College AU FE3H
> 
> I feel bad about leaving out the wolves, I need to add them to the next one somehow


End file.
